This task will take between two and four hours—most of it waiting time—depending on the size and design of your fridge. But you can easily split up the process into several shorter cleaning sessions over a few days.

1. Get rid of food you don’t want or need. In the days (or several hours) before you clean your fridge, remove old or unwanted items so you have less to clean around. If anything is obviously leaking or dirty, clean it or transfer it to new containers. If you store things in your fridge that don’t need to be refrigerated, such as flour or sugar, remove them until the cleaning is done.

2. Make a plan. Think about your fridge as small sections that you’ll tackle one at a time in five-minute intervals, said Evatt. He typically works from top to bottom to prevent anything from falling onto areas he has already cleaned. Start with dish soap and water and then use disinfecting wipes; for many messes, the wipes are often all you need, so the work goes even more quickly. If you have a small refrigerator with wire shelving, which is easier to clean, you may be able to complete an entire shelf, fridge-door pocket, or freezer in one section. A large or full refrigerator is best split up into multiple sections, especially if you need extra time to clean an especially dirty shelf or underneath drawers, clear out crumbs in corners, or gently wipe away mildew in the gaskets around the doors.

3. Make sure the temperature of the room stays below 72 °F. If you don’t have an indoor thermometer, 72 °F is around room temperature, said Evatt. He recommends turning off ceiling fans and closing windows and doors, if necessary, to keep warm or humid air from blowing into the refrigerator.

4. Fill the sink with ice or put a cooler near the fridge. Use this to keep any food you remove during cleaning as cold as possible.

5. Prepare your cleaning materials. Dunk a sponge or rag into the bowl of soapy water and wring it out—you don’t want anything you use to clean your fridge to be dripping wet, just damp. If you are not using fragrance-free disinfecting/sanitizing surface wipes, mix equal parts white vinegar and water and dunk another sponge or rag in that mixture and wring it out.

6. Set a five-minute timer and start cleaning. Working as quickly as you can, remove as many food items as necessary from the area you will clean and place them in an ice-filled sink or cooler. (Or, if there’s room, simply move the items to another part of the fridge.) If you see only light spills, move to step 7.

Remove sticky or crusty messes with the damp sponge or rag, rinsing it out as necessary. (Cover stubborn stains with a barely damp paper towel to loosen them first.) You can take out especially dirty glass shelves or crisper and deli drawers and wash them in the sink during step 9; some of them may even be dishwasher-safe.

7. Wipe the section down with disinfectant. Working quickly, use the fragrance-free disinfecting/sanitizing surface wipes (or the rag dipped in the vinegar-water mixture) to wipe down the walls, shelves, and other surfaces of the section.

8. Put the food back in the fridge. When you’re done cleaning the section, return the removed food to the refrigerator. If you still have time, prepare the next section of the fridge for cleaning by moving food items out of the way or to an ice-filled sink or cooler.

9. When the timer goes off, close the door. Don’t cheat! If you didn’t finish the section, you can complete it during the next five-minute session. Move to step 10 and wait to resume cleaning.

10. Wait 30 minutes and repeat. When the 30 minutes are up, continue the cleaning process until all sections of the fridge are done.

This task will take between two and four hours—most of it waiting time—depending on the size and design of your fridge. But you can easily split up the process into several shorter cleaning sessions over a few days.

1. Get rid of food you don’t want or need. In the days (or several hours) before you clean your fridge, remove old or unwanted items so you have less to clean around. If anything is obviously leaking or dirty, clean it or transfer it to new containers. If you store things in your fridge that don’t need to be refrigerated, such as flour or sugar, remove them until the cleaning is done.

2. Make a plan. Think about your fridge as small sections that you’ll tackle one at a time in five-minute intervals, said Evatt. He typically works from top to bottom to prevent anything from falling onto areas he has already cleaned. Start with dish soap and water and then use disinfecting wipes; for many messes, the wipes are often all you need, so the work goes even more quickly. If you have a small refrigerator with wire shelving, which is easier to clean, you may be able to complete an entire shelf, fridge-door pocket, or freezer in one section. A large or full refrigerator is best split up into multiple sections, especially if you need extra time to clean an especially dirty shelf or underneath drawers, clear out crumbs in corners, or gently wipe away mildew in the gaskets around the doors.

3. Make sure the temperature of the room stays below 72 °F. If you don’t have an indoor thermometer, 72 °F is around room temperature, said Evatt. He recommends turning off ceiling fans and closing windows and doors, if necessary, to keep warm or humid air from blowing into the refrigerator.

4. Fill the sink with ice or put a cooler near the fridge. Use this to keep any food you remove during cleaning as cold as possible.

5. Prepare your cleaning materials. Dunk a sponge or rag into the bowl of soapy water and wring it out—you don’t want anything you use to clean your fridge to be dripping wet, just damp. If you are not using fragrance-free disinfecting/sanitizing surface wipes, mix equal parts white vinegar and water and dunk another sponge or rag in that mixture and wring it out.

6. Set a five-minute timer and start cleaning. Working as quickly as you can, remove as many food items as necessary from the area you will clean and place them in an ice-filled sink or cooler. (Or, if there’s room, simply move the items to another part of the fridge.) If you see only light spills, move to step 7.

Remove sticky or crusty messes with the damp sponge or rag, rinsing it out as necessary. (Cover stubborn stains with a barely damp paper towel to loosen them first.) You can take out especially dirty glass shelves or crisper and deli drawers and wash them in the sink during step 9; some of them may even be dishwasher-safe.

7. Wipe the section down with disinfectant. Working quickly, use the fragrance-free disinfecting/sanitizing surface wipes (or the rag dipped in the vinegar-water mixture) to wipe down the walls, shelves, and other surfaces of the section.

8. Put the food back in the fridge. When you’re done cleaning the section, return the removed food to the refrigerator. If you still have time, prepare the next section of the fridge for cleaning by moving food items out of the way or to an ice-filled sink or cooler.

9. When the timer goes off, close the door. Don’t cheat! If you didn’t finish the section, you can complete it during the next five-minute session. Move to step 10 and wait to resume cleaning.

10. Wait 30 minutes and repeat. When the 30 minutes are up, continue the cleaning process until all sections of the fridge are done.